Choices
by Nina430
Summary: What happens when Natalie and Christian realize that she is in love with his worst enemy? JohnNatalieChristian
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to theABC network and the creators of OLTL.

Chapter 1

Natalie could barely contain her happiness over the return of her husband, Christian Vega. She had prayed that she would be able to have his arms around her again---to feel his love engulf her once again.

She sat down beside Christian at the Palace. She had to admit that she was surprised that he had agreed to have dinner here because he had hated the place with a passion before his "death". Christian draped a protective arm over her shoulders, and she leaned back into his arm.

"I love you so much, Chris. God, you have no idea what it's been like without you here with me. I've made such a mess of things. I…," Natalie said.

Chris put a finger to her lips to silence her. "It's okay, Natalie. Everything is okay now. You don't have to worry about anything now. I'm here."

Across the Palace, John McBain walked in with his arm around Evangeline's petite waist. Now that he knew that he wasn't responsible for Chris's death, he had convinced himself that Natalie no longer need him. Now he could devote himself to Evangeline. He looked around the room, and his eyes fell on a beautiful redhead—Natalie Buchanan Vega. What was she doing here? As if she felt his gaze on her, Natalie turned her head and met his eyes. She started to smile, but decided against it. Instead, her eyes filled with panic. Chris's eyes followed her gaze, and his face became clouded with rage.

Oh boy, John thought. Round two hundred. Christian Vega blamed him for everything that happened to him and Natalie. John watched as Christian clenched his fists, and Natalie attempted to calm him down.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else," Evangeline said when she noticed Christian.

"No, no. I already apologized to Chris. I'm not going to maneuver everything in my life to avoid him," John said.

Chris was getting up and taking quick strides over to John. "You have some nerve coming here. You take me away from Natalie, and then come to live in Llanview to torture my wife."

"That's not how it went down and you know it, Chris. Your cousin, Tico, wanted you dead. He's responsible," John said. "I already told you that I was sorry for getting you and Natalie involved in that mess, but it's over. I even left the FBI."

"It's over?" Chris laughed, "It's not over. Natalie had to grieve for me all alone."

"She wasn't alone. She had her mother and sister among others who love her, and they helped her grieve."

"Christian, don't do this," Natalie pleaded. This was awful. What would happen if Christian found out that she had been involved with John? Would he hate her as well?

"I think you need to calm down, Chris," Evangeline said.

Chris glared at John's girlfriend. "You know what he did. How can you stand to be around him?"

"It wasn't his fault," Evangeline said.

"What's wrong with you people!" Chris's voice began to rise. "He's a monster. He doesn't even deserve to live."

John was getting tired of this. He didn't even think as he put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Okay, Chris. That's enough. You need to…"

Christian swung his fist and tried to hit John in the head, but John ducked and rammed into Chris. He punched him in the stomach, but it didn't seem to faze him. Christian rushed at him with his fists. Natalie tried to pull Christian back, but he accidentally hit her instead and sent her falling hard to the floor.

"That's enough-both of you!" Bo Buchanan yelled. He had just entered the Palace with his ex-wife, Nora, and their son, Matthew. Nora rushed to Natalie's side. The young woman was crying quietly. She brushed away her tears when she saw her uncle.

"I'm okay, Nora," Natalie said, but she could see that Nora wasn't convinced.

"Look what you did, Chris," Bo said. He pointed to his niece.

"Oh my God. I did that?" Chris went over to her. "I'm so sorry, Natalie. I didn't mean to….I didn't realize…"

Natalie shook her head. "It's okay. It was an accident."

" I was stupid."

John picked up some napkins from a table and handed them to Natalie. "Natalie, you're bleeding." There was blood on the side of her head. He wanted to wipe it away, but he didn't dare.

"I can take care of wife," Christian said angrily.

"Yeah, I can see that," John said sarcastically.

"Chris, let's just go home," Natalie said. She pushed herself up off the floor and took the napkins from John.

Chris nodded in agreement. "I lost my appetite anyway."

Natalie sighed and tried to hide just how upset she was, but John could see behind her mask. He saw her hurt. He had hoped that Christian's return would make it go away.

"Are you okay?" Bo asked her. He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"I'm fine, Uncle Bo," she said. She smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. She gave Nora and Matthew a hug.

"Do you want to go to the hospital and get that checked out?" Bo asked, referring to the bump on her head.

"No. It's no biggie. I'm fine," Natalie said, "I love you.See you later."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Bo watched his niece leave, he was more than just a little concerned. Chris was not the same man he had been when Natalie had married him a year ago.

"He has so much anger in him," Nora said. "I'm really starting to worry about that."

"You're not the only one," Bo said. "I don't know all of what happened to him while he was gone, but I'm beginning to think that Natalie isn't safe around all of that bottled-up rage. She could get caught in the crossfire—again. Chris needs therapy before he really hurts himself or someone else."

"There's going to be a big explosion when Chris finds out about Natalie and John. You see how he reacts when John is even in the same room with him," Nora said. She shook her head sadly. Everyone had been so happy when Chris had returned from the dead, but their joy was short-lived. She felt guilty for even thinking it, but perhaps it would have been better for everyone if Chris had stayed dead.

"You are definitely right about an explosion, Nora. I need to protect Natalie from that. The poor kid has been through enough. It's bad enough that she hasn't been completely cleared of Paul's murder. John swears that she didn't do it, and I agree, but there's so much evidence and too many unanswered questions. Natalie won't open up to anyone- not even to Jessica. I really need to know what happened between her and Cramer. "

"I know," Nora said. "She gets really tense and upset when anyone asks her about him."

"She's going to be okay, right? You're not going to arrest Natalie again, Dad?" Matthew asked.

Nora and Bo looked at each other. They had been so caught up in their conversation that they had forgotten that their son was with them.

"I'm doing my best to clear your cousin," Bo said. "She's innocent. Don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. Understand?"

"Yeah, Dad," Matthew said.

John was not really in a mood to eat anymore. All he could do was remember Natalie on the floor with blood on her head. He blamed no one else but himself. If only he hadn't gotten into that fight with Christian.

Across the table, Evangeline watched him closely. "What's wrong, John? You're not eating and it was your idea to come here tonight." She had a pretty good idea what was bothering him, but she held on to a thread of hope that he was worried about a case or something other than Natalie.

John failed at an attempt to smile. "Everything is fine. I'm here with the most beautiful girl in the world." Evangeline was gorgeous. She was also smart and successful, so why couldn't John get Natalie out of his head?

Evangeline sighed. "What happened earlier wasn't your fault. Christian is just being a hothead. Someone just needs to get through to him."

"That's an understatement," John said. He was worried about Natalie. If Chris ever dared to harm a hair on her head, John would kill him.

"John, can I talk to you?" Bo asked. He smiled at Evangeline and apologized for interrupting their meal. John had been so caught up in his thoughts, that he had not even seen Bo come over to his table.

John got up and followed Bo outside of the Palace.

"John, it's obvious that Christian hates you. I love my niece and because of that, I need a favor from you," Bo said.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"I need you to stay away from Natalie. You haven't done anything wrong, but I don't want her to get hurt. Right now, Chris is being irrational. I'd hate to see his reaction when he finds out that you and Natalie were together. She's been through a lot, and I don't want Chris's anger to turn on her. I'm trying to be patient with him because of what he has been through," Bo said. He didn't miss the pain that flashed across John's face.

"I understand," John said, "I would never put Natalie in any danger. I lov…"

"You what?" Bo asked. He knew what John was about to say. He saw the answer in John's eyes every time that he looked at Natalie. "You're in a bit of a dilemma, aren't you, John? You still love Natalie, but her husband is back, and you're dating Evangeline, who is very much in love with you."

John didn't even bother denying it. He leaned against the Palace wall, feeling like it was the only thing holding him up. "I have to move on. She does, too. I love Natalie so much that it hurts, and that means that I have to take a step back. I can't have anything to do with her."

"I bet that you never admitted that you love her to anyone," Bo said.

"No. I can't ruin what she has now," John said. He dug his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Can you live with this decision?"

"I'm going to have to. I don't have a choice." John closed his eyes and tried to replace the images of Natalie that kept popping into his head with ones of Evangeline.

"You know, it could end up blowing up in your face," Bo said.

"Look, Bo, I know you're trying to help, but you and I both know that Natalie loves Christian."

"But what would you do if she said that she loved you?"

John shrugged. "I don't have to think about that because it's never going to happen."

"Okay, John. Well, I thought I'd talk to you, first. I'm going to talk to Natalie and Chris as well. Hang in there, John. I know that you're in a rough place right now, but things are going to work out." Bo left John alone, hoping that his talk with him had done some good.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Christian was sound asleep. Natalie crept down the stairs and curled up on the couch in the living room. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted. However, for reasons she couldn't explain, she couldn't fall asleep in her own bed. _You need to stop kidding yourself_, Natalie thought to herself. _You know that you feel guilty sharing a bed with Chris when all you can think about is the look in John's eyes when he saw that you were hurt._ The look in his eyes had brought back all of the memories of times he had held her in his arms and comforted her. She knew that he had wanted to do that today. It made her love him even more. Natalie froze. _Love_. Where had that come from? _There's no way that I can love John because I'm a married woman_, she thought. _I'm married to Chris_.

Natalie played with her hair, finding ways to hide her bruised forehead. Viki and Jessica would completely freak out if they saw it. That was the last thing she needed. After a few minutes, she drifted off to sleep.

"Natalie, Honey, wake up."

Natalie reluctantly opened her eyes. "Mom?" She looked at her watch. It was only ten o'clock in the evening. She'd only been asleep for forty minutes. "Is something wrong?" She swung her legs over the edge of the couch and sat up. She saw that Kevin was standing behind her mother.

"Baby, I heard what happened at the Palace. Bo called me and told me," Viki said. She sat on the couch beside her daughter and brushed her hair off her forehead so that she could examine her injury.

"It's nothing, Mom. Really. I can't believe Uncle Bo called you," Natalie said.

"It sure doesn't look like nothing," Kevin said, "What the heck happened to you, Sis?" No one hurt a Buchanan without suffering the repercussions.

Natalie lay back down on the couch. "It was an accident, Kev."

"John and Chris got into fight at the Palace, and Chris accidentally hit Natalie," Viki explained.

"What?! That little….I'll kill him if he ever lays a hand on you again—whether it's an accident or not," Kevin declared.

"Don't say that," Natalie said. "It was an accident. This bruise is just going to remind me to not try to break up any more fights. Just don't tell Jess."

"She probably already knows. You know how fast news spreads. It will probably be in the newspaper tomorrow. Anything to do with our family always is," Kevin said. He crossed his arms across his chest and glanced toward the stairs.

"Don't even think about it, Kevin," Viki said. "Leave Christian alone."

"For now," Kevin said, trying to conceal his anger. This was far from over. Wait until Asa found out about this.

Natalie sighed and stood up slowly. "I think I need to go for a walk so I can clear my head." She really needed to get out of the house. She felt like she was suffocating.

"It's late, Natalie," Viki protested. "If you really insist on going out, go get Chris. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind walking with you."

"I'm only going out for a little while. I need to be alone," Natalie said. " I'm going to have my cell phone on if you want to reach me. I'll be okay, Mom." She needed to go to Angel Square because it was one of the few places she could go and remember the way that Chris had been before his alleged death. He had put everything he had into the design for the angel statue. Now he was a different man. She didn't see the passion in him that had once existed when he worked on a piece of artwork or … made love to her.

"I'd come with you, but I have some business to take care of," Kevin said. "Be careful, Baby Sis." He kissed her cheek and left.

John sat on a bench at Angel Square. He couldn't sleep. He had been having these bouts of insomnia a lot lately. Even lying in bed with his arms around Evangeline had not cured him. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice that Natalie had just arrived.

Natalie ran her fingers across the smooth surface of the angel statue. She didn't even notice John at first, and it was obvious that he was just as oblivious to her presence. She pulled her coat close to her body. John's scent still lingered on the coat he had given her when they had talked at the park shortly after everyone discovered that Chris was alive. They had talked about a lot of things that night. Most of it had been about how she didn't want Chris to know that she had even been friends with John.

She backed up when she caught sight of John sitting down. Why was it that every time she started thinking about John; he came out of nowhere? She couldn't be anywhere near him. She ran so that he wouldn't look up and see her. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had gotten Christian back, but she had lost John in the process.

"Where do you think you're going, Little Lady?"

Natalie's eyes widened. She had been so preoccupied that she hadn't even realized that she'd wandered off into an isolated part of town. Two men clothed in all leather approached her.

Natalie instinctively backed away from them. "I don't have any money." She had left her wallet at home.

"I'm sure we can work out some other form of payment," one of the men said. He was a tall, beefy guy with a thick mustache and beard. His dark eyes were steadied on her face. He wondered why a beautiful, young woman would be out at night alone. The answer didn't really matter to him. It was his lucky day.

When he was right in front of her, Natalie made her move. She kicked him in the groin as hard as she could and tried to make a break for it, but the other man grabbed her by her coat and yanked her back. Her hair was matted down to her head by the rain. Her tears mixed with the rainwater. She tried to scream, but a hand clamped down over her mouth.

The man she had kicked had somewhat recovered. He yanked open her coat. The only thing that Natalie was wearing was pajama pants and a silk zebra-print top. She had been so anxious to leave Llanfair that she had not bothered to change out of her sleepwear. Her attacker's eyes fell on the thin gold chain around her neck. Her family's crest hung from the chain.

"Hey, Richie. I think we have the cream of the crop here. We have us a Buchanan brat."

Natalie bit down on the hand covering her mouth. "My grandfather is going to have your head on a plate if you don't let me go!" Natalie burst out in a fit of anger. She knew that she sounded like a spoiled brat, but she didn't care.

Her attacker grabbed her hair and yanked her head back. He planted a wet, sloppy kiss on her neck. Then he ripped her necklace from around it. His hand lingered on her neck, then traveled downward and rested on her breast.

Natalie struggled to free herself, but her efforts were in vain. She gave up struggling and closed her eyes. "Please let me go. I won't tell anyone about you," she said. She said a silent prayer as he started to pull her pants down over her hips. She opened her eyes and saw Paul's face looking at her. She closed her eyes again. When she opened them this time, he was gone. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

The man holding her suddenly let go. Natalie dropped to her knees, letting the rain wash over her. She tried to stop the tears from falling.

"Natalie, are you okay. I'm here now. Those men are gone."

Natalie looked up. "John?"

"Yes, it's me, Honey," John said.

Natalie threw her arms around his neck. He helped her up, but her legs were shaky, and she collapsed against him.

"I've got you now, Natalie. They can't hurt you," John said. He held her for a few minutes.

"John, I remember."

"Remember what?"

"I…" Natalie opened her mouth, but no words came out. She leaned against John and soaked his shirt with her tears. John picked her up and carried her to his car. He would ask her what she remembered later. For now, all that matter was that she was safe now that she was with him.


End file.
